This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

freelanceJune 2, 2005, in outside Benghazi, Libya

Al-Ghazal's body was found in a suburb of Benghazi, about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) east of the capital, Tripoli. He had gone missing from his home on May 21, according to several sources. Al-Ghazal was a former journalist for the government-owned daily Azahf al-Akhdar and was contributor to the London-based Web sites Libya Alyoum and Libya Jeel.

Justice Minister Ali Hasnaoui said al-Ghazal was shot in the head and the death was being investigated as a murder.

Al-Ghazal, who worked for government media for several years and was a member of the governing Revolutionary Committees, had recently been critical of government officials and the official media in articles for the London-based Web sites. Al-Ghazal wrote an open letter in February, announcing his intention never to write for official media again and saying he was "protesting the attacks ... journalists have faced while trying to reveal the truth." Al-Ghazal publicly criticized Libyan officials in his other articles on Libya Alyoum and Libya Jeel, accusing them of corruption and "stealing the public's money."

A source close to al-Ghazal told CPJ that the journalist was briefly detained and questioned by Libyan security agents in April.